MVP F86F Sabre Sim Pit - Build Blog

[[MVP] Mugga]

Also got time in this evening to tear down the fuel control and stores jettison panel.  The unit that I have differs somewhat from the F86F Sabre as it is out of an Australian CA27 Sabre, which used the panel for the Missile Tone, Selection and Jettison controls.  You can see the application of a cover plate that accommodated the MISSILE functionality and how the underlying original panel has been modified a number of times during the service life of the aircraft.  With the panel carefully dismantled, we can now make a template from it so that replica units can be fabricated from sheet alloy.  This original unit will be paint-stripped and repainted.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

I took the Ejection Seat arm-rest assemblies into the workshop today and got time this afternoon to media blast the left and right arm rest support tubes, arm-rest trays and the ejection seat initiator cheek mounts.  Everything cleaned up nicely, with the exception of one of the arm-rest trays which has an extremely hard epoxy like glue residue on it.  I was initially a little concerned with the two alloy castings that sit atop the arm-rest support tubes as they looked quite corroded and brittle.  These castings support the ejection handle assemblies.  As I started media blasting I was certain that they would blow-out, and dissolve... but I was pleasantly surprised as they did not! That aside, everything was given a quick primer coat.  I still have the two smaller initiator accessory mount brackets and the left and right hand seat sides to media-blast and paint.  Once they are cleaned down and primed, I will hang all of the parts in the workshop and paint everything in the colour coat, then finish clear coats.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Spent some time this evening starting to clean up the throttle quadrant, along with mapping out how all of the control inputs will be implemented.  The throttle grip has a three position switch for the Speed Brakes (Open, Neutral, Closed).  It has a  MIC button (for radio comms), it has a CAGE button (switches the gunsight gyro cage on and off) and a twist action (which controls the gunsight wingspan range).  The twist action drives a central shaft within the grip which extends down into the quadrant and is directly connected to a potentiometer.  Levers on the throttle quadrant consist of the Throttle arm, the flap selector arm and the fuel cut off arm (which also has a relight switch) on the Australian Sabres.  The flap selector works by engaging a micro-switch (located at the bottom of the quadrant) in different positions.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Spent some time in the workshop today with @V_Seraphim_V#0728 working on the Sabre's Main Canopy frame.  Work included panel beating and trial fitting of the bottom fairings, which run the full length of the canopy frame.  We also took some time assessing how we will go about fabricating the two canopy slider trucks, that hold the frame into the sliding tracks each side of the cockpit.  

Having had time to take a very good look at things, a decision was taken to send the frame to the media blasters and have them give it a once-over and have it epoxy primed.  The justification for this is the general condition of the aluminum structure, which has clearly spent a considerable amount of time opened to the elements, with surface corrosion showing in a wide range of places.

Another sub-project is the canopy retraction gearbox (located along the stainless retract rail).  The gearbox looks to be in reasonable condition, and will need to be removed, dismantled and carefully restored to working condition.  As part of my collection of spares is the canopy retraction electric motor drive.  So if we can get the gearbox working, we can hook up the electric drive motor and have it sliding on command!

I will be heading out to the workshop again tomorrow and will put a couple of hours in, drilling out old rivets and rivet tails.  The previous owner had dismantled the canopy frame, however, did not drill out rivets properly or entirely.  There are a significant number of rivets that need removing before we can even contemplate an assembly.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

Purchased a few more original F86 Sabre items over the past day.  Two original Ejection Seat security pins, which will look great attached to the seat in the pit.  I also purchased a NOS weapons control panel overlay.  It is not identical to the one in DCS... but it is close enough!

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Sorting through more of the main canopy parts this evening.  Have grouped together all of the canopy release handles (left and right) and will give these a clean up tomorrow at the workshop,  They both require a little panel beating of the stainless security clip that retains the opening arm.  Also got the ADF Loop Antenna bracket out and will give this a media blast and paint with primer.  Now chasing down the aft loop antenna support.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

On the tools this evening drilling out the countersunk flush rivets on the main canopy side panels.  The previous owner had dismantled the frame, but had not fully drilled out the original rivets, leaving a significant number of heads with 1/2 tails etc.  An hour in the workshop had them all drilled out. 

Next step is to take the panels to the media blaster to have them taken back to clean bare metal, then to spend some time on them repairing the damaged sections with flush patches.  The main canopy has clearly had a hard life since being removed from the aircraft it was once attached too.  Cracks, dents, bends and power-saw cuts are all there - including a series of cracked and enlarged screw holes along the very bottom of the trim edge, which I can only imagine were possibly screws used to prevent the canopy from being opened on the aircraft it was once attached too.

Not to worry, by the time I have applied the necessary repairs, it will all look flight ready!

Key to these kinds of restorations, is to get all of your parts refurbished and ready before starting the assembly, otherwise you find yourself starting and stopping too much.  Best to get everything together and refurbished, then focusing on a full assembly of everything.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

Acquired an original F86 Sabre Pilot G-Suit Regulating Valve for the sim pit.... Am leaning towards rigging up a compressed air system (compressor and tank-reservoir), that could deliver regulated pressure on-demand via a solenoid valve, activated by G-Meter values output to DCS BIOS.  This would result in G-Suit inflation and deflation as aircraft G increases and decreases.  Add this to the Butt-Kicker and VR and I would provide impressive immersion!

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

Sourced a Pressure Demand Oxygen Regulator (MB-2).  Built by Bendix.  There are around four different versions of this panel, manufactured by four different companies.  Each are interchangeable on the F86 Sabre.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Took the main canopy side panels and rear curve panel across to the media blaster today to be taken back to bare metal.  The curved rear panel is badly corroded underneath and the media blasting will remove all of this.  Once I receive these panels back, I will then spend some time preparing the various flush patch repairs that are needed, where the panels have either been cut, cracked or drilled.  When finished, they will once again look flight-ready!

The next step will be to send the main canopy frame to media blasting, but before I can do that, I have to remove all of the stainless and steel items.  When media blasting, you must be careful not to cross-contaminate by having alloy and steel items together.  Media blasting steel and alloy together can impregnate the alloy with fine particles of steel, which results in electrolysis of the alloy resulting in corrosion.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

The NOS undercarriage retraction unit has arrived from the United States and is in excellent condition.  Complete with all internal workings and external handles/lights.  This is an awesome addition to the sim pit build.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Making progress on the main canopy frame, with a trial fitting of parts this evening.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Another big day in the workshop, this time focused on closing out the paintwork on the Ejection Seat.  First pass of the matt black paintwork has been applied to the external surfaces, which will receive another full coat, then two coats of 2 pack clear.  Reason for the 2k clear is to provide a strong and durable clear surface, given that it will endure me climbing into and out of it regularly.  I am really happy with how the black was applied, only managed to get a couple of runs, but they will sand out before the next coat is applied.

I have bagged up all of the accessory attachment hardware and this will be replaced with all new cad-plated aviation hardware.  This will give the seat a great 'freshly overhauled' look and feel.  Once I have the arm-rest assemblies re-installed, I will start the refurbishment of all of the ejection activation accessories.  This includes the action handles and all of the control arms and connections.

I was able to gently place the arm-rest assemblies into position, for some quick photos so that everyone can get a sense of how the finished product will look.

\

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[Awger]

#jealous

Got enough BD-5s there?

[[MVP] Mugga]

@Awger it's got entirely out of hand.... that is for sure!

Up early this morning and out to the workshop to get another coat of paint onto the ejection seat. The seat inside surface will need another coat, then it will be ready for its clear coating. I also managed to get the headrest adjustment pins painted in silver and remounted to the seat today, they too will require clear coating. The bottom of the seat will also need painting, and I will hang the seat in the workshop for that to be done.

I have taken a range of detail photographs which I will post below. Of note is the ejection seat foot-rests which were quite badly corroded and pitted as a result. A shame that they look as damaged as they do, but that's what leaving an ejection seat outdoors for 30 years does!

This week coming I will spend a few evenings painting up all of the seat arm-rest assemblies and accessory brackets. Once they are painted, I will set about re-assembling them and installing all of the new hardware and spacers etc. Exciting to see it coming together!

I have all of the original pneumatic air lines for the seat and harness and will start having these replaced with new hoses and fittings, so the finished product will look complete. Need to research a commercial business that does hoses to get these done.

Am still trying to track down a NOS lap seat-belt, as the one I have is quite badly sun-damaged and will look terrible on the restored seat.

Edited August 28, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

To compliment the seat I have purchased a 1952 USAF Backpack Parachute with harness, which when the seat is finished will live in the back-rest, as it formed part of the padding pilots needed.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Took some time today to take a good look at the ejection seat lap belt, which includes an air-activated buckle release.  The seat came with both the left and right hand side of the belt, with the buckle/latch seized.  A search online for the manufacturer found little to nothing, so some more research is in order.  If I cannot find any information, I will just set about dismantling it, to see if I can get it moving again.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Another painting update.... kind of feels like groundhog day!  Got time after work today to apply the last coat of black paint to the ejections eat and arm-rest assemblies!  Next step will be to apply several clear coats, sealing everything up.  Once the clear coats have been applied, I will then let it sit and cure for a few weeks, before anyone tries to sit in it or use it. 

Once I have the seat structure completed, I will shift gears and tackle the accessory items (ejection handles and connecting arms and pivots etc) and then reinstall everything to the frame.  And before I forget, i'd like to send a big shout out to Paul Macguire from Aviation Parts & Equipment at Bankstown Airport (YSBK) who donated all of the new cad-plated aviation nuts, bolts and screws for this project.  Thank you very much Paul!

Overall I am really happy with the finished achieved so far and once it has a couple of good strong layers of clear coat, it will look a million dollars.  Importantly, it will be ready for some epic DCS World flight simulation adventures!

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

A massive shout out to [MVP] IndianaShane who has taken time this past week to design and prototype the stores release mechanism, of which there are two located on the lower left hand cockpit panel.  Whilst our goal is to use 100% original manufacturers components, in over 2.5 years of research, we are yet to turn up an original mechanism which is frustrating.

So.... in the absence of an original unit [MVP] IndianaShane took on the challenge of recreating them as accurately as he could using 3D software, and then 3D printing the prototype for functional testing.
 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

Got some time this afternoon after work to get a coat of clear on the ejection seat and arm-rest assemblies!  One more coat to go and then I can move onto the smaller accessories, including the top canopy breaker assembly, seat side panels, ejection handles and activation connections etc.

Edited August 30, 2022 by [MVP] Mugga

[[MVP] Mugga]

The new old stock IFF control panel arrived in the post today and it looks as it was advertised - new and never used!  It's hard to imagine that this stuff is still out there to purchase.

 

 

 

The new old stock G-Suit pressure regulator valve unit arrived today in the post.  Now that we have the unit, we can start running some tests with compressed air to see if we can come up with a method to simulate G and deliver air-pressure to the g-suit.

 

The new old-stock cockpit step arrived today.  This will be installed into the side of the simulator unit, so that you can step up and into the pit.  Just as it is on the real aircraft.

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Managed to get around 4 hours in at the hangar today, before life got in the way of all the sim pit building fun.  Have focused on finishing off the ejection seat arm-rest side guards and accessory brackets, so that I can get the seat closed out.  These had a leather protective edging riveted to them, where the seat belt passes through each side of the seat.  Both the left and right hand sides were pretty rotten, so I have removed them and will order some fresh leather this week.  I took some time to dress the curved sections of the panels and knocked out any dents that were in the panels. These are all ready to be media blasted, primed and painted.

I also removed the canopy jettison handle to take measurements etc, which is located on the top right hand side of the instrument panel.  [MVP] IndianaShane has been doing a superb job of making up 3D models of each of these control handles etc and then prototyping into 3D printed plastics.
 

 

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

I was not going to spend Sunday working on the sim pit, but boredom got the best of me and so I went out to the hangar to get back on the tools.  Todays work included mounting the arm-rest assemblies and bolting them in with all the new hardware.  I also spent some time preparing the ejection seat control actuation mechanisms and their associated mounting brackets etc. 

I also had some time to repair a bent bowden cable mounting bracket, which at first glance seemed as though it would not be an easy fix.  However, a quick mounting in the benchtop vice and a tap with a rubber hammer and bingo, it was back straight as an arrow. 

I have included some photographs of the micata (phenolic board) mounting bases, which I have sanded back and prepared for clear-coat paint.  The micata is a really interesting material, it is effectively a compressed sandwiched fabric/canvas that is saturated in phenolic/formaldehyde resin.  It's quite toxic material and if you are sanding it you must wear a mask or breathing regulator etc. The dust generated is extremely toxic and linked to all kinds of nasty health side-effects.  My methodology has been to immerse the part in water, and to wet-sand the item and then disposing of the waste water.

 

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Many thanks to [MVP] Indianashane from our community who has been spending time designing up our original F86 Sabre cockpit accessories into 3D so that new replica units can be manufactured. His latest work is the Canopy Declutch handle, which is located to the top right hand side of the instrument panel.  We will be setting up an online store shortly, where each of these will be listed and you can purchase them - more on this when we get it live.

 

 

 

[[MVP] Mugga]

Another small step forward today, having located all of the accessory brackets for the Manual Bomb Adjustment unit.  I had managed to take these out to my workshop and placed them in obscure drawer for safe-keeping!  Only problem was, I entirely forgot where they were and only found them again by accident!   At any rate, I now have all the components back and will spend some cleaning them up and painting them, so that they can all be reinstalled.  Out of interest the two angle card attachment fixtures are made from brass and have been carefully braised, whilst the retainer clip on the back is thin stainless steel.